Shloka 90

Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission

Devanagari script

पार्शाननाश्व बहवो नानादेशमुखास्तथा । तथा कीटपतड्डानां सदृशास्या गणेश्वरा:

Transliteration

pārśānana-aśvā bahavo nānādeśa-mukhās tathā | tathā kīṭa-pataṅgānāṃ sadṛśāsyā gaṇeśvarāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Viele Pferde hatten Gesichter wie die wilder Bestien, und andere, deren Mäuler zu vielerlei Ländern und Arten zu gehören schienen. Ebenso gab es Truppenführer, deren Antlitze Insekten und fliegenden Kreaturen glichen—ein unheilvolles, widernatürliches Aufgebot, das den Schrecken um die letzte Gewalt des Krieges noch steigerte.

Word by Word

पार्शाननाःthose having faces like (wild) beasts/animals

अश्वाःhorses

बहवःmany

नानादेशमुखाःhaving faces of many kinds/regions

तथाlikewise/so

कीटपतङ्गानाम्of insects and birds (lit. worms/insects and flying creatures)

सदृशास्याःhaving faces resembling (those)

गणेश्वराःlords/leaders of troops (chiefs of groups)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

horses (aśvāḥ)

troop-leaders/commanders (gaṇeśvarāḥ)

insects (kīṭa)

flying insects/creatures (pataṅga)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses grotesque, unnatural imagery—beast-faced horses and insect-faced leaders—to signal moral and cosmic disorder. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such portents reflect the spread of adharma and the terrifying consequences of unchecked violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a frightening, abnormal spectacle among the forces—horses and commanders appearing with uncanny, non-human faces. The description functions as an ominous sign within the war narrative, heightening dread and foreshadowing calamity.